The Face of Iron
by Shadowrain5
Summary: A mysterious new student has joined the DWMA. He doesn't talk much, providing simple yes and no answers, demands to be left alone, and his name, Blithe. The main mystery about him, however, is the terrible secret of his face. Who is he? R R!
1. An Iron Visage

**Hi guys! I'd just like to notify you of the fact that his is my first fanfiction **_**ever**_**, so I would greatly enjoy it if any and all of you would rate and review it and give good constructive criticism on how to make my stories better or more interesting! Thank you and enjoy!**

Chapter 1: An Iron Visage

The crowd was what bought Maka's attention that morning. It had been raining the past few nights, so the streets were wet and the sky gray. These days usually turned out to be perfectly boring afternoons. So what was a crowd of DWMA students doing, hanging around and muttering? Maka walked over to see what all of the commotion was about. It was well worth the look.

The students were crowding around what seemed at first to be a black bundle of cloth. Then Maka realized that it had a humanoid shape. Now that she looked at it more closely, she saw that it was boy, either unconscious or sleeping on the ground beneath the DWMA. The cloth was a black cloak that covered up most of his body. The boy did not look all that healthy, Maka thought. "Hey, can we get Nygus over here? I think this is serious!" Several of the students in the crowd went off to fulfill that task. Nygus soon arrived with the students and immediately picked up the boy. "What happened here?" Nygus demanded. Maka shook her head. Nygus sighed and ran into the school with the boy.

It was a normal day at the school, but Maka could not get the morning's incident out of her head. Who was the boy? And what was he doing just lying there? These questions bounced around Maka's head for the whole day, and her friends started to worry. "Are you feeling all right, Maka?" Soul asked her more than once. Maka replied each time with a nod and a smile. But the same mystery was pestering her brain, and would not stop. Finally, she decided to go and visit him in the infirmary.

He was lying awake on one of the beds, still in his cloak, though Maka could see the left side of his face all right. He had handsome features, with long black hair and bright green eyes. His skin was as pale as could be. He looked over Maka like she was some sort of science experiment. "What?" The boy demanded of Maka in a surprisingly deep voice, one that made it seem as if the boy was not sick at all, and in fact had so much stored power that every word seemed like it was exploding. Maka smiled at him. "I just came in to see how you were doing. You seemed very ill this morning. What's your name?" The boy rubbed his forehead. "Blithe. That's it." Maka stood straight with a smile on her face. "Pleased to meet you, Blithe. I'm Maka Albarn, but you'll call me Maka." The boy rolled his eyes. Maka frowned. "How did you get here? Why were you lying on the ground this morning?" Blithe shook his head. "Leave me be...Maka. I need sleep." Blithe closed his eyes.

The next day, Maka woke up in bright spirits. Blithe was on her mind again, but it didn't bother her in the least. She knew that he would get better and then she could pester him with questions all she wanted. After waking up the rest of the household, Maka, Soul, and Crona proceeded to the DWMA. It was a sunny day, a nice contrast to the recent weather. The three walked into Class Crescent Moon and sat down in their seats. Sid started the roll call. "Maka Albarn!" "Here," Maka stated. The roll call continued, until suddenly Sid got a confused look on his face. "Ahem, Blithe...?" Maka froze. Blithe is a student in the school? "Here," pointed out a deep voice from the doorway. Sid looked over the cloaked boy. "You are new, correct?" Blithe responded with a nod. "Have a seat anywhere you like. Class is about to begin." Blithe nodded again and sat down in the way back.

The class continued as normal, but Maka couldn't help but continually sneak peeks up the desks at Blithe. The same cloak was draped around the boy, still covering half his face. What a strange character. After class was over and Stein had dismissed the students, Maka silently tagged along with Blithe, in the hope he wouldn't notice. Tough luck. Blithe stopped in the middle of an empty hallway. "Why do you insist on following, interrogating, and generally pestering me? Do you not have something better to do?" Maka froze for the second time that day. Blithe turned around. "Stop bothering me." Maka returned, "Geez, I just want to get to know you. How else are we supposed to be friends?" Blithe chuckled a deep chuckle that seemed to Maka more scary than cheery. "Friends? I don't need friends. I already saw the downfalls of friendship once. It nearly cost me my life. If I show you why, will you leave me be?" Why not, Maka thought. "Sure. Show me." Blithe brought his hands up to where the cloak covered his head, and suddenly Maka saw what he must have been so silent, so non-conversational and holding back about. As he brought the cloak over his head down, she saw how pained he must be. For beneath the covering safety of a cloak, there lay a monster. Half of Blithe's face, without a nose, two vertical lines as a mouth grate, and a dark hole for an eye, was made of dark iron.

**That concludes chapter one of my first ever fanfiction. Thank you for reading and I hope you stay with me on the next few chapters! R+R!**


	2. The First Mission

Chapter 2: The First Mission

The metallic view definitely caught Maka's attention. Okay, maybe it totally freaked her out. After a couple of seconds of trying to find words in her momentarily catatonic brain, she finally managed to yelp out an understandable sentence.

"Oh, goodness! What the hell happened to you?"

Blithe tightened his fists in anger, the fingers turning white.

"And here I was thinking you would live up to your promise. I told you to leave me be, so why don't you shut up, and _leave me be?_" The boy pulled his cloak over his face, grunted in what Maka noticed was a slightly mechanical way, and stalked off in a hunched position.

It took Maka and the others several days to get over the brooding presence of Blithe in their classroom. The whole time, Maka could only see half of an iron face, staring into the depths of her soul. When she blinked it would be gone. But the vision always came back.

Even Dr. Stein seemed slightly put off by the shape over in the back corner, not quite a human shadow thanks to the cloak constantly draped around its body. Nobody was quite sure where Blithe went after school was over. Some thought that he lived in the school, like Crona used to, others came up with stranger ideas and rumors, such as him disappearing when he was not at the school. Still, it was not long, Maka suspected, that he would be assigned a mission, and then she could find out more about him.

She was partially correct.

To Maka's luck, she and Soul was assigned to the same mission as Blithe on his first mission, to show him the basics. Maka acted very cheerful about it, knowing that this was her chance to figure Blithe out. Blithe acted less than cheerful, being silent the entire train ride to Shallow Town. Soul got bored and fell asleep.

"Why do you think they call it Shallow?" Maka asked sullenly. Blithe replied with a shrug. Maka sighed deeply and started performing the intellectually thrilling act of removing lint from her coat. As they arrived at Shallow Station, the three of them looked out of the window, and did a double take. The entire town was cut out like a bowl in a mountain valley. No doubt the land was located beneath sea level.

"That answers your question," said Blithe as they got off the train.

Maka shuddered from the cold. Somehow, a breeze managed to get into this basin. It was uncanny. "They say a string of murders has been occurring here, and the one to blame is a Kishin egg named Terren the Silent." Maka recited the mission briefing. Blithe went stiff.

Maka looked up at Blithe. "Is something wrong?" Blithe shook his head. "No. Nothing at all." However, he kept up this composure through their entire walk down a mountain to get to the town. Now that they were there, they noticed that there was a choking fog around. No one seemed to be on the streets. "How strange," remarked Soul.

"Watch yourself, the both of you. Soul, transform." Soul complied, turning into a scythe, and then flying into Maka's hands. Maka was baffled. Aren't I supposed to be the one showing Blithe how to perform a mission? "What's going on?" Blithe looked over. "I know Terran. He attacks from the fog on a silent day. A day like today." Blithe proceeded to take off his cloak. Maka was stunned. "You know a Kishin egg?" Blithe gritted his teeth. "He wasn't one when I knew him. He used to be a good person."

Now that Maka saw him with his cloak completely off, she wondered why he wore it in the first place, besides to cover up his face. Underneath the flowing black fabric, Blithe wore a suit not unlike one someone would wear to a funeral, tie included. She heard Soul gasp at the sight of Blithe's iron face, but she hushed him. "He doesn't like to be asked about it."

The trio continued down the road in silence. All the while, Maka watched Blithe closely. He seemed to be walking stiffly still, jerking his head to look around. Something was obviously bothering him. "Really, there is obviously something wrong. Just tell me." Blight turned towards her with an angry look on his face. "I do not require your attention. Focus on the task." However, Maka still noticed his visible eye nervously darting back and forth.

A call broke the silence. The call was obviously a human, but the emotion could not be pinpointed. It sounded like a cross between one note in a belly laugh and a scream of terror. Maka immediately thought, fight. Blight's face read 'danger'. Suddenly, the town seemed to be filled with these yells, resounding all around the group. Maka covered her ears, dropping Soul in the process.

"You idiot!" Blithe hissed. "Pick him up immediately. Terran could arrive any minute now!" A gust of wind swept down the road, and suddenly, a figure stood there. It was a tall young man, looking older than most of the students at the DWMA, but not quite like an adult. His hair was short and brown, and his skin deathly pale, his cheeks sunken and eye sockets deep and empty. Maka once again felt the discomfort of being around a Kishin egg. He spread his arms wide, and the calls ceased.

"Blithe. Maka. Soul." The voice was a whisper that cut its way into their ears. "Hello. My name is Terran. I am here to make your lives a total misery, and then to eat your soul. Now doesn't that sound like fun?" Maka gripped Soul tightly. Blithe seemed to steel himself. Maka prepared her speech, but suddenly Blithe beat her to it.

"TERRAN! You traitor! You will pay for all that you have done! To me and ours! We used to be good people, Terran, but you and your pals went bad! For this, I will TAKE YOUR SOUL!" Blithe dramatically pointed at Terran. The latter started sarcastically clapping, a disdainful look playing on his face. The whispering voice sliced through the air again. "You act like some sort of hero. I think...that the _soul _of a hero might taste better than those of others. Let us begin!"

A breeze started blowing through the town again, and it caused strange a sensation to the ears of the group. A hypnotic kind of sensation, that made them want to just lie down and...no. Maka snapped out of it. If we fall asleep, we'll never wake up. Suddenly, Terran was standing above her. Before she could reach, he backhanded her face with explosive force, sending her toppling back.

Blithe took this opportunity to take Terran from behind, but the corrupt soul was expecting this. Elbowing Blithe in the stomach, he turned around, and started sucking air into his mouth with impossible force. Any stray item seemed to fly into the gaping void. This lasted for five seconds, but to those who had to hear that awful sound of forced air movement, it felt like hours. Then, Terran did the reverse. He released everything that was just inhaled point blank at Blithe. The air and debris hit the boy at full force, and he flew into a dumpster.

For one of the few times in her life, Maka was genuinely afraid. This egg was strong. Impossibly so. There was no way he could be beaten like this. It's as if he expects every move that comes at him. She needed to think quickly.

She grabbed Soul and shouted, "Hey, egg! You think a slap in the face would put me down?" Terran scratched his head. "Well, whenever girls did it to me, that pretty much stopped me."

Maka and Soul thought the same thing at the same time. "SOUL RESONANCE!" The two shouted in union. Their soul wavelengths rose and diminished to match equally. "WITCH HUNTER!" Soul grew in size and started to glow, signs of an anti-magic resonance. Maka brought the Witch Hunter above her head and charged Terran. She brought it crashing down on him before he could dodge.

Then, one of the most terrifying things that had ever happened to Maka occurred.

The Witch Hunter had been stopped, as Terran's hand pushed the giant scythe blade away from his body as if pushing away a kid who was leaning on him. The Witch Hunter shattered.

"That was puny." Terran's voice stabbed the air like a needle. "You can't-cuh-cuh...urk...blargh." Black blood spewed out of Terran's mouth and nose. A long piece of glass stuck through his stomach. Blithe appeared from behind him.

"You dumbass, Terran. You always would pay attention to one thing at a time. Your calculations were always off, too." The glass twisted in Terran's intestines. "Give back all of the souls you stole from everyone. Now. Vanish."

A cold chuckle emitted from Terran's mouth. "You always were a naive fool. Now, I'm dead. Because of you...you. Thanks for...m-making...my...life...a...living hell...brother."

The body of Terran erupted into darkness, leaving behind only a glowing red soul. Blithe hung his head. "Not him. He was not the one who did it."

Maka stood up. "What did he mean, 'brother?'?"

Blithe looked at Maka with a pained expression. "He meant what he said. Terran was my older brother." Then he shook his head. "No. I had no brothers. Never did. Terran is not someone I would ever consider my brother. It was his entire fault. However, he is not the one I search for in my dreams." Then, realizing what he had just said, he looked at Maka coldly.

"I never said that. You got it? Any of that."

Maka nodded cheerfully. "You got it!"

"Hey, um, you guys? Don't forget about me? I'm still here? Do I get the soul or not?"

Maka almost leaped in the air. "Oh, Soul! I'm so sorry. Yeah, eat up! It's all yours."

Maka's Thoughts On The Encounter: That was the first mission Blithe had experienced at the DWMA. All I knew now was that he was searching for something. That something was very obviously dear to have rippled his emotional pond like that. Well, I guess I have to keep boring my way into his trust. But I'm sure of it. Soon enough, we'll be friends.

**End of Chapter 2**


	3. The Party

Chapter 3: The Party

It had been a couple of weeks since Blithe's first mission, and he was not having a good time. Streams of people were all over him asking about how he took out an Egg without a weapon. He usually retorted with a snarl and an angry look, and that about shook off most people. Maka, however, was not one of them. She was intent on finding out more about Blithe, so much so the boy himself was put off by her stubbornness.

It was not long until Maka found out where Blithe went after school was over.

She was walking past an old water tower when she happened to look up. There, up on top of the round construct, Blithe was sitting, gazing off into the sunset. She decided to intervene.

Climbing up onto the tower next to him, she said hi in a normal matter. Blithe grunted in response. Sighing, Maka proceeded to ask,

"What are you doing here by yourself?"

Blithe pointed at the sun as it was setting. "They say that if you look hard enough, the sun will appear to have a face. They say it is laughing during the day, and then gets tired and wheezes itself to sleep." Maka laughed. "That's an old fairy tale. No one believes that." Blithe shrugged and went back to staring at the sun.

They sat there together for about half an hour, not saying a word to each other. When the sun finally went down, Maka looked over at Blithe and asked him, "Do you come here every day?" Blithe nodded in affirmation. "Where do you stay? Do you have a place to sleep?"

"I don't sleep." Replied Blithe matter-of-factly.

That was unexpected.

Noticing Maka's current expression, Blithe hurriedly said "I meditate! I meditate! It's very soothing, and gives me the same benefits sleep would give anyone else. This is also a very nice spot, although it gets cold during the night sometimes. Plus, the dreams are so much more vivid..." Blithe's voice trailed off.

Maka watched Blithe's face as he spoke, noticing that no emotion crossed his eyes. The boy was like a stone cliff. Actually, more like an iron cliff. He was impenetrable in his emotion. The only time Maka really saw him show passionate feelings was in that battle with Terran.

"Hey, Blithe?"

"What is it?"

"There is a school dance coming up, and I think that you definitely need to go."

Blithe looked up with a blank expression. "A formal thing? Like with a suit and everything? Geez, I know I look good in a tie, but what about my face?"

"It'll be a masquerade! Everybody at the dance is dressing up! You'll fit right in, especially if you have an interesting costume. Like, don't go with nothing. Fly your colors!"

Blithe looked confused for a second. "If I dress up, how is that showing my true colors?"

"Just go. It'll do you good to be around people, to mingle and just have some fun with your life. It'll be a change from all of the skulking you do normally. And it sure as hell beats sitting on this water tower watching the sunset. The school ballroom has a nice balcony facing the sundown as well. Come on!"

Blithe was rubbing his temples. "All right, I'll go. Just stop talking. I don't even get migraines and I'm feeling their symptoms."

Maka chuckled. Good. Now I can see how he acts in a public spot. I really want to get to know this kid. He seems like such an interesting person.

"I'll see you there, Friday night at 5. Don't be late!"

Blithe turned up at the party a half hour late.

First off, the colors amazed him. Everybody had something different on, and the colors were so vivid in his true eye, he was blinded for a second. The ballroom was huge, and he felt tiny compared to the vast space. He noticed Maka out of the corner of his eye. She was wearing a witch's outfit, with the hat and everything. He looked down at his own moon god suit, with black streaming robes and a white crescent moon covering half of his face, and smiled. This could actually be enjoyable. "Just like old times..."

Maka caught Blithe _smiling. _Finally, some emotion other than anger or blankness. Unfortunately, Death the Kid, who was dressed as a waiter ("The suit is symmetrical!"), also found Blithe. After berating the latter for about ten minutes on the symmetry of timely arrival as well as the asymmetrical form of his costume, Blithe finally found it in his heart to tell Kid that his collar was off center. That sort of got him packing.

Maka approached Blithe casually, waving hi when he noticed. "See? I told you it would be a lot of fun. You really need this. I mean, it sure beats stalking the corridors, right?" Blithe shrugged. As Maka looked at him, she noticed that his attention was hardly on her. In fact, it was on someone else entirely. She followed Blithe's piercing gaze to a corner, where stood a figure who was not dressed in a costume, nor seemed to be enjoying itself. Blithe was staring straight at Crona.

Crona noticed another student approach him and cringed. No doubt they were there to beat on him. What did he do wrong?...No. The other student put his hand on his shoulder and smiled in a friendly manner. Crona could only see half of his face, the other half being obscured by a crescent moon.

"What are you doing here all alone?" A deep voice rumbled. "It's a dance. Aren't people supposed to have fun?"

Crona looked down in dismay. There was no way someone like this could understand him. The hand gripped his shoulder tighter. "You're too skinny. Eat something." A slight chuckle. His shoulder was let go and the other student walked away. Crona watched the black robes carefully as they flowed away from him.

Maka watched this exchange with great interest. It was as if Blithe felt some kind of connection to Crona, to act so close to him. Geez, what am I doing wrong? It's like he's known Crona his entire life.

Blithe looked at Maka's questioning gaze as he slid by her. Let her sweat it out. As he walked through the room, he thought about the boy in the black dress thing. Why was he so interesting? Duh. It was because he seemed to be the first person Blithe saw here who seemed to really not fit in. It was an empathy thing. He turned around to see what the purple-haired kid was doing, saw that he was eating some salad, and smiled. He's just like me, in a way.

After fixing his collar (PERFECTLY), Death the Kid stood back up and sighed. Who the hell is that kid anyways? And why in the world does Maka think he is so amazingly interesting He's all she talks about these days. That first mission, the one with that sound-controlling Kishin egg. He's always wearing that cloak, too. What can he be up to?

Blithe stood out on the balcony overlooking Death City. It was a beautiful view during nighttime. Despite the bright lights, Blithe could see the stars clearly. For the thousandth time, he tried to count them, but to no avail. There were always too many for him to spend his time on. He turned, faced the people also attending the dance. They are having so much fun. He greeted Maka with a glance as she approached him.

"Do you dance?" She asked.

Blithe was surprised by the question. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, technically, this is a dance party."

Blithe shook his head. "I used to dance all the time. We were great. It was the two of us. I don't dance anymore."

"'Us?' Who's 'us?'"

Blithe glared at Maka for a second, and then looked away. "None of your concern."

Maka rolled her eyes. "God, you are annoying. You won't let anything out of your brain. You should learn to be less secretive about things, especially for someone who spaces out into their own past so much."

Blithe responded with a shrug.

Maka grew angrier by the second. "How in hell are we supposed to be friends if you keep this stuff from me?"

Blithe's turn to be angry. "Have I not told you before, that I am uninterested in friendship? It holds people back, makes them weak. I can't afford that."

Maka waned a bit. Blithe sighed, relaxing, and walked away. Dances sure were fun.

Maka's thoughts on this chapter: Blithe seems like such a spaceshot. He is constantly drifting off into some shady past. He seems to feel some empathy with those who look weak and don't fit in. Crona, in other words. Well, we'll see. I'll pull the truth from him, someway or another.

**A Note to my readers: Thank you for sticking with me even though the long break that I took. Be expecting a flashback chapter next, showing a part of Blithe's mystery...hint hint nudge nudge. R+R!**


	4. Nightmares

**Guys, I sincerely apologize for the month-long (or was it longer) wait that you have completed to write this chapter of the story. School has been torture for me (straight As can be hard to keep), and other stuff has been keeping my schedule full. I hope to pop the next chapter out as quickly as I can. Thank you for your patience.**

**Chapter 4: Nightmares**

_He was walking down a dirt path. The music led him further into the forest. It was nice, a bright day. The music was cheerful, joyous. He smelled the sweet breeze as it wafted by him, blowing his hair out of his face. His face. He reached up, felt it. Whole and complete. Huh. No metal there. Nothing cold or hard. He smiled. Could it be he was being forgiven? Sighing, he sat down on a tree trunk by the path. Surely he could stop for a moment._

_Suddenly, pain. Screaming, searing pain, running through his head. The music stopped as he grabbed the area around his ears in a desperate hope of stopping the agony. The pain centered on the side of his face. He felt a sharp edge. Something was cutting down the side of his cheek. He closed his eyes, prayed for it to stop. And then, tearing. The same something was ripping his face clean from his head. _

_He panicked, and_

Blithe's eyes snapped open. He was sitting cross-legged on a water tower in Death City. He felt no pain. Feeling his face, he saw that one side was solid iron. Back to normal. It was still night time, judging from the stars shining brightly down at him, a crescent moon smiling from the sky. Blithe relaxed. Surely he could get some rest, not being disturbed. Closing his eyes, he continued his meditation.

_A ballroom. A completely empty ballroom. The boy stood in the middle of the room, looking around for a dance partner. Soft music was coming from nowhere to be seen. No one else was around. Blithe sighed, saddened by his lonesomeness. A voice whispered from somewhere. _

"_Come find me. I'll help the pain stop."_

_Looking up, the boy smiled bravely. Someone to help? Really? Maybe if he followed the voice, he would find someone to dance with. That would be nice. The boy walked through a set of open doors, the only doors leading out of the ballroom. _

_Upon looking back, the boy realized that the doors were gone. No doors, no ballroom. This gave Blithe mixed feelings. No place to dance? That's sad. Turning back to the corridor he was walking down, he saw a trio of red eyes staring straight at him_

and woke up again.Kishin. The word resounded in his head. He had a Kishin in his vision. Blithe frowned, rubbing his temples. Obviously this was not to be a quick night. He decided to stay in the real world for a while. Blithe lay on the tower on his back, looking up at the stars. The constellations brought back memories. Good memories of a past time.

_She was the only one he ever spent time with before. She was a weapon. He was not. They made a great team, working together to rid the world of all things unholy to the cause of the Shinigami. Though they were not technically students at the DWMA, they still worked hard to be just like them. When night came, they used to camp out under the stars, naming the constellations they saw. It was a good time, while it lasted. They loved to dance._

Good memories. Too bad they had to end. Opening his eyes, he stared blankly up towards the moon. God, it sure looked like it was grinning. This world is so welcoming for such a dreary place. So much bad stuff happens to people, and they can let it go for a while. Why do I have to carry on this burden like I have been for so long?

Immediately, Blithe felt guilty. Forget everything that had happened? Impossible. That would simply be insulting his duties as himself. Blithe sat up, rubbing his head. The cold metal of the right side of his face brushed against his hand, and he flinched. He still remembered the pain he had experienced that day.

_NO! The boy ran down a seemingly endless hallway, chasing a drifting slice of hope that was rapidly escaping his grasp. It floated just outside of his reach, jumping away from him when he lunged at it. There was no way he could catch it. No hope..._

What a dumb metaphor. Blithe snapped back into reality with that thought in his head. But I can't let it go. These feelings, these imprints of the past, are what keep me alive, keep me sane.

The moon was setting over Death City. It was tinged in red as it set, as if blood was dripping down its face. Goodness, everything is so morbid for me. Blithe lay back down on the roof of the water tower.

What a night. Barely any rest. Maybe I should go for some real sleep one of these days. I remember that the dreams were not half as vivid in sleep as they are in meditation. Maybe...

Maka noted that Blithe seemed more tired than usual in the past couple of days. He did tell me that he never slept; only meditated. Could it be that he doesn't get enough rest from meditation?

Dr. Stein asked Blithe to stay after class that day. Goodness, he really must need to talk to him. Either that or he's just itching to dissect the poor kid. Maka, though she knew it might be a bad idea, decided to stay outside the door to listen in on the conversation.

The class went by pretty smoothly. Stein had set up the year's 5th biology unit that day, and they all worked at dissection labs for the most of the day. Maka was partnered up with both Soul and Blithe, who was paired up with her by Stein, as nobody else had wanted to work with him.

After class was over and everybody but Blithe had left the room, Maka leaned on the classroom door from the outside, listening to what was happening on the other side.

She first heard the voice of the professor: "Has anything been bothering you recently? You seem slightly disturbed by something these days. There is something unsettling about you. Well, actually, the cloak might add to that. Might I ask you why you wear it?"

Blithe's cold, deep voice resounded next: "None of that is any of your concern, professor. I think that it is important for me to keep these things to myself. Please respect that. Have a nice day."

The door flew open, pushing Maka back. Blithe stared at her for a couple of seconds, as if probing her for something, then swept past her down the hallway. Dr. Stein looked out at Maka. "What a creepy fellow," he remarked before shutting the door.

Blithe stalked the streets of Death City. All around him, he felt eyes boring into his mind, his soul. Those eyes of people, who feel pity, who feel anger, who feel fear. Directed at him, a well of negative emotions. How can I continue to live like this, a paranoid fool who causes those around him to wither? He stormed down his alley, climbed up to his spot on the water tower.

Looking out on the city, he felt only hatred towards those who pitied him. Only hatred towards those who saw him as a twisted being, unlike everyone else. If only it were not true. If only...

_He was walking down a dirt path. The music led him further into the forest. It was nice, a bright day. The music was cheerful, joyous. He smelled the sweet breeze as it wafted by him, blowing his hair out of his face. His face. He reached up, felt it. Whole and complete. Huh. No metal there. Nothing cold or hard. He smiled. Could it be he was being forgiven? Sighing, he sat down on a tree trunk by the path. Surely he could stop for a moment._

_Suddenly, pain. Screaming, searing pain, running through his head. The music stopped as he grabbed the area around his ears in a desperate hope of stopping the agony. The pain centered on the side of his face. He felt a sharp edge. Something was cutting down the side of his cheek. He closed his eyes, prayed for it to stop. And then, tearing..._

Maka's view

After the incident with Stein, Blithe seems more and more miserable. He hides from people's view during class, slouches. He even stopped glaring at everyone. Man, the boy is an emotional fountain. How strange.


	5. A Book on Pain

**Chapter 5: A Book on Pain**

The assassin grinned. The boy dressed in the black robes looked like a simple target. He could be taken down easily. With no sound to give him away, the would be killer jumped off the ledge, and prepared his weapon to strike the boy squarely in the back.

The target turned towards his assailant with an angry glare in the eye that was visible, and lifted his arms. Catching the assassin in the stomach with his palms, he focused his soul...and sent his wavelength pulsing into the enemy's body. The assassin crumpled on the ground.

Black*Star grinned even with pain coursing through him. Looking up at his "victim", he gave a thumbs up. "You got it!" Blithe smiled, looking at his right palm. Finally, he had been able to properly utilize the soul force technique. It felt interesting to put his soul into one point like that. It felt good as well.

Black*Star got up and brushed off his clothes. "Professor Four-Eyes was right to allow me to teach you to fight properly without a weapon. After all..."

Bracing himself, Blithe still cringed at what was coming.

"I AM THE WONDERFULLY AWESOME BLACK*STAR! I AM HIGHER THAN A GOD, AND AM PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF TEACHING ANYONE ANYTHING! YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Relaxing, Blithe walked up to the ninja and patted him on the back. "All right, man, thanks for everything. I'd better get going now. It was nice learning from you."

"Hey, I haven't taught you everything yet! Y'know, I have this awesome method of watching girls when they-"

"I'll pass." Blithe walked out of the training hall, back to the normal DWMA he knew. On the way, he saw several people looking at him, fear in their eyes. He clenched his fists in rage, the released them. What could he do? After all, he did not have the most conventional of appearances. Smiling irritably, Blithe, head down, head back to Class Half-Moon.

On the way, a girl with pink hair caught his eye. Running up to him, out of breath, she started spitting out words. "Lord-see-ask-talk-"

"Slow down." Blithe reprimanded her calmly. "Now, what was it about the Lord?"

Recovering, the girl smiled. "Sorry, I just ran from the top floor to pass a message. I'm Kim, by the way." Blithe urged her onward. "Blithe. What was the message?"

"Lord Shinigami would like to see you in his room. Immediately. There. I've gotta catch class now. I'll see you later." Kim took a deep breath and ran off. Blithe sighed, slightly vexed. But, if Shinigai-Sama wanted to see him, there was no saying no.

"Heya, Mr. Blithe! How has your time been at the school so far? Have you been enjoying it?"

Questions swam out of Lord Death's mouth and swarmed in Blithe's brain. The boy actually needed to find a chair to sit down in as not to go reeling. And there were no chairs. So he reeled.

Seeing Blithe's discomfort, Shinigami-Sama slowed down. "Look, I called you down here to talk about something very serious. I hope you don't mind, but this may strike you emotionally."

Blithe waved Lord Shinigami on. "I can deal with emotional discomfort. You go right ahead and ask anything you want. As long as it isn't how I feel about something." Shinigami-Sama nodded. "Well then, let us begin. First of all, I would like to ask you to list..."

The pause made Blithe look up. He saw Lord Death peering at him very carefully. "Yes?"

"I would like you to list every Kishin that you know."

Blithe felt as if he had been slapped in the face for a second. Then, recovering, he responded, "I know quite a few. Well, knew. Before I killed them off. Is there someone in particular you are looking for?" Please, please, please don't say the name...

Lord Shinigami nodded slowly. "Yes, the name of the particular Kishin I wish to know about is Xenax. The Traitor."

Blithe relaxed. It was not him. He need not worry.

"Oh wait. No, not Xenax. That was another one. No, the one I search for is Ehtil, the Shadow Walker. What an annoying bastard. You really can't catch him. He's been bothering us for a while now, but as soon as we catch a glimpse of him, he melts into the darkness. I was wondering if you know anything, with your knowledge on Kishin."

Blithe's heart almost stopped beating. Ehtil. The name filled him with fear. He had met up with that Kishin numerous times. He had already figured out that the particular Kishin's power was affiliated with shadows, like teleporting through them, or even transforming into the owner of the shadow.

"Yes. I know this particular one. I have not had the chance to destroy him. He is extremely tricky. A high-class Kishin. But, what is it that you really want to know?"

Shinigami-Sama looked over Blithe, observing his actions. Then, standing straight up, he stated, "We need to rid ourselves of him. Our spies have reported that he is planning for something big. A 'reunion,' is what he called it. With what, we are unsure, but judging by him, it could even be the return of Asura."

No, Blithe thought. It's worse than that, Lord Death. He kept his thoughts to himself. "If you have spies, what do you need me for?"

The reaper's eyes bore into his soul. In a remarkably serious voice, he said, "You will be asked to infiltrate his base. And you will be asked to destroy him."

Pain. What a good discussion in class.

Doctor Stein had been discussing dissection methods with the class, when a girl piped up and asked if it would be painful to be dissected. Or was there a special way to avoid pain?

Stein fixed his glasses, and stared hard at her. "No. There is never a way to avoid pain. Especially not in dissection." Looking up, his eyes fixed on Blithe. The boy, to his surprise had a wide, almost wolfish grin spread across his face.

"Is there something amusing you, Blithe?"

Blithe shook his head, as if in disbelief. "Pain. I love the subject of pain." This took the class by surprise. The room filled with nervous muttering. Stein's eyebrows arched. "What is it that fascinates you so?"

"The scientific study of pain reactions and the feeling of pain have been on my mind. In fact-"

Blithe rummaged in his cloak for a couple of seconds, then pulled out something minuscule. It looked like a block of wood about the size of his palm, but on closer inspection, one could see that it was a book, a tiny one. In gold letters on the cover were emblazoned the words: "A Book on Pain."

"- I have written this volume, on my study of dealing and receiving pain. In fact, one could get a lot of information from this. I feel rather proud of myself."

These statements only made the muttering in the classroom increase. People were exchanging fearful glances. Others chuckled nervously, as if saying "this is all a joke...right?"

Professor Stein got up, walked to the top row of the desk arrangement. Blithe placed the book in Stein's palm, still grinning eerily. Stein flipped through the book, holding it close to his glasses. Students were amazed to see his eyes widen at times, and even to see him nodding in agreement to something unknown.

He handed the book back to Blithe, then squatted so his head was level with Blithe's. Audibly to the entire class, he said two words. "Nice job."

Getting back to his seat , Stein continued the lesson without another word on the subject.

Blithe never stopped grinning.

Maka sighed, bit into her sandwich. She had stopped spying on Blithe a while ago, finding it inconclusive, but questions about the boy still raced around in her head, especially after the incident with the book. He was becoming more and more freaky, almost to the extent of a Kishin.

He seems almost...inhuman. He does not enjoy flaunting his emotions, is reclusive, and is, all in all, a solo creature. He also has some creepy characteristics. And, of course, there is always his face. She would never forget his face. Even now, when she closed her eyes, she saw the black pit of an eye staring at her from the depths of his hood.

She munched joylessly.

As Winter bore on Death City, the days were becoming shorter.

Soon, Blithe knew, he would be walking to his tower in utter darkness. All the better. He would not attract as much attention as he would in the sunlight.

As he sat on the water storage system, he opened his palm. The book still lay there, a menacing brown _thing._ he flipped it open to a blank page, whipped out a pen, and began writing.

_Chapter 73: Pain Through Emotions_

_If there ever was a wonderful way to hurt somebody very deeply and very quickly, it would have to be using their emotions against them. This does not cause them direct physical harm, but can distract them, making them open to it, or, in some extreme cases, even scar their psyche, forcing them to waddle around hopelessly, without aim, all of their wishes to live cut completely from their mind. _

_I was recently asked to hunt and destroy Ehtil the Kishin. This was one of those extreme cases for me. I, even now, feel like I might go insane from worry about what is going to happen. For the reunion he talks of, it has nothing to do with Asura. For Ehtil is actually a part of me, wrenched out by witch magic, my shadow form, taking a shape, and going completely against me. A copy, if you wish. _

_As for the reunion? He wishes to be part of me again. And, if he succeeds, there is only one outcome. _

_I become a Kishin as well._


End file.
